Excavating-machine.



D. W. MILLER.

EXGAVATING MACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED T15R11, 1908.

976,589. Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

Z SEEETBSHEET 1.

' D. W. MILLER.

EXGAVATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11, 1909.

976,589. Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

B SHEETS-SHEET 2. oi 6 lliliiauil L DAVID W. MILLER, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS.

EXCAVATING-MACHINE.

amass.

Original application filed January 8, 1907, Serial No. 351,347. SerialNo. 415,312.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID W. MILLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Excavating-Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in excavating machines of thattype in which the excavator is embodied in the form of a rotary wheelwhich is supported and carried along by a traveling wagon andprogressively excavates the ditch in the rear of the wagon.

This specification is a divisional application of an originalapplication filed January 8, 1907, Serial No. 351,347.

Among the salient objects of the invention are to provide a machine ofthe character referred to, the excavator wheel of which carries a seriesof combined diggers and buckets arranged on either side of the wheel andwhich cooperate to loosen the soil and collect and carry it upwardly outof the ditch; to provide in a construction of the character referred toautomatic tripping mechanism for delivering the soil from the bucketsinto the traveling conveyers and which automatically returns to normalinoperative position; to provide a construction in which the buckets maybe mounted beyond the rim of the excavator wheel in order to vary thedepth of the ditch and in which the size of the rim may be variedindependently of the location of the buckets; to provide an improvedform of conveyer for delivering the soil at either side of the ditch; toprovide improved means for driving the conveyer belts directly from theexcavator wheel; to provide a construction in which the excavator wheeland conveyer belts may be bodily raised and lowered and otherwisemanipulated, the wagon and excavator propelled slowly and at a rate ofspeed suitable to excavate the ditch, and at a higher rate of speed whennot excavating; all effected from one prime mover and suitable drivingconnections therewith; and in general to provide an improvedconstruction of the character referred to.

To the above ends the invention consists in the matters hereinafterdescribed and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Specification of Letters Patent.

, Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

Divided and this application filed February The invention will beunderstood from the following description reference being had to theaccompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of myexcavator wheel shown as connected to the rear end of a suitablesupporting and driving mechanism. Figs. 2 and 3 are relatively a planview and a side elevation of the pre ferred driving mechanism, partsbeing broken away to reduce the size of the draw- 111g.

Referring to the drawings 1 designates as a whole a suitable wagon oroperating truck, to which is operatively connected an excavator wheeldesignated as a whole 2. Describing first this excavator wheel, itcomprises a rim 3, a series of spokes 4, connected to'the rim andextending inwardly to the hub 5. Upon alternate sides of the rim aremounted a series of buckets 6, there being in the present instance threeon each side. The arrangement is such that the driving chain or belt mayextend around the rim of the wheel and, between the various buckets.These buckets are mounted beyond the rim of the wheel and are connectedto the spokes by means of a pair of arms 7 rigidly bolted to the spokest and the rim of the wheel. It will thus be seen that the respectivebucket-s may be mounted at any desired distance beyond the rim of thewheel to vary the depth of the ditch while at the same time the size ofthe rim may be decreased. This may be accomplished by simply providing asmaller rim 3.

Upon the forward end of each of the buckets are rigidly secured diggers7 in a well known manner. In operation diggers of any preferred typewill be secured to the wheel in advance of the buckets in a well knownmanner, but these are not shown inasmuch as they form no part of thepresent invention. That face of the bucket which lies nearest to ortangentially to the wheel, is hinged to the bucket in such a manner asto open laterally and away from the side of the wheel. This hingedmember 8, which may be termed the bottom of the bucket, is normally heldclosed by latches 9 on bellcrank levers 10, said latches engaging lugs11 on the opening edges of the bucket bottoms. The open position of thebucket is shown at the top of the wheel in Fig. 1.

:more particularly described, is a fixed cam 16, which is arranged todepress in succession each trip rod 13 as the bucket pertaining to thatrod arrives at the top of the wheel. To this end each trip rod isprovided with a laterally projecting cam roller .17, arranged to becarried beneath the'cam l6, and thereby, with its rod 13 depressed. Thismovement rocks the associated trip lever, which rocks the latch lever 10and disengages the latch from the lug 11 of the hinged bucket member.Thereupon the latter drops and the contents of the bucket are dumped,inthis case, upon the conveyer, hereinafter described. The hinged plate8 isheld open until the soil has all been emptied from the bucket. anduntil a bucket is carried down to the position where it will close byits own weight, and when this occurs the latch lever, urged by theweight of the loosely-mounted slidable rod 13 will reengagethe lug 11 asshown in the lower right hand portion of the wheel in Fig. 1.

Describing now the manner of conveying the dirt from the buckets to thesides of the ditch, an endless conveyer is mounted at either upper sideof the wheel, each conveyer extending transversely beyond the sides ofthe ditch. Each conveyer comprises a traveling belt 21 trained around abelt frame 18 rigidly supported by arms or braces 19 which are suitablyconnected to the axle shaft of the wheel and other braces 20 secured tothe sides of the frame 18 and the boom members 15. The cam members 16are so arranged that they will operate the tripping mechanism andrelease the soil when the respective buckets reach a point adjacent tothe belt 21. This belt may obviously extend out beyond the sides of theditch. It is of course ap parent that in case the wheel is driven at asufliciently high rate of speed suitable means will be provided forpreventing the soil from being carried beyond the traveling belt orapron. I prefer to drive the conveyer belts directly from the excavatingwheel, in the novel manner shown; a suitable sprocket 22 on one of theconveyer shafts, and a sprocket 23, rotating with the excavating wheel,are connected by a driving chain 24. The operation will be obvious.

Describing now the manner of supporting the excavating wheel I employ apair of boom members 15, heretofore referred to. These boom members areconnected to a strut frame 25 and the upper portions of said strut frameare connected with the respective boom members at points remote from thestrut frame by means of tension bars 26. The lower end of the strutframe is formed by a transverse rock bar 26 which is journaled insuitable bearing supports 27 mounted upon the main side members of thewagon 1 near the rear end of the latter.

In order to drive the excavator wheel I provide an endless belt or chain28 trained around sprocket teeth formed on the outer periphery of therim 3 and also trained around a driving sprocket 29 mounted upon thestrut frame. This drive sprocket is sleeved to a companion sprocket 30and the two mounted upon a suitable shaft 31 extending across therectangular strut frame 25. The sprocket 30 is driven by a belt 32 fromanother pair of sprockets 33, 34 similarly sleeved together andjournaled upon the rock shaft 26. Sprocket 34 is driven by a. belt 35which leads forwardly to and is connected with a sprocket 36 mountedupon a transverse shaft 37 suitably journaled upon the wagon. Shaft 37is driven from a main shaft- 38 which is journaled to extendlongitudinally of the wagon, the beveled gear 39 on said main shaftserving to transmit motion to a second beveled gear 40 on shaft 37. Aclutch 41 controlled by a bellcrank-lever 42, hand lever 43, andconnecting rod 44, serves to throw the sprocket 36 into and out of gearwith shaft 37.

For raising and lowering the excavating wheel, so as to vary the depthof the cut or elevate the wheel for transportation, tension links 45 areconnected with the upper end of the strut frame 25, and with the ends ofthese links are connected winding cables 46 which extend to and arewound upon a cross shaft 48 journaled in the main frame of the wagon. Ifdesired the links 45 may be dispensed with and the cables 46 connecteddirectly with the strut frame. Shaft 48 carries a worm gear 49, theupper periphery of which is engaged and actuated by a worm shaft 50,which is in turn driven by a sprocket 51 mounted thereon. Sprocket 51 isconnected with another sprocket 52 on the main shaft by a sprocket belt,and the sprocket 52 is controlled by a clutch 53 and hand lever 54 foroperating the same.

For propelling the machine along slowly, so as to excavate a ditchprogressively, and for propelling the machine at a more rapid speed whentransferring it from place to place, driving connections.are provided asfollows; upon the main shaft 38 is mounted a sprocket 55 which is beltedto a sprocket 56 upon a worm shaft 57 carrying a worm 58. The wormactuates a gear 59 upon a transverse shaft 60, which latter is provided.at one end with a pinion 61, which meshes with a gear 62 upon anothertransverse shaft 63. Shaft 63 carries at each end pinions 64,

65 which engage and drive relatively large spur gears 66 upon the maintraction wheels 6?. This is the low speed drive.

For propelling the machine more rapidly, shaft (30 is driven from theshaft 37 through the medium of a sprocket 68 mounted upon said shaft andbelted to another sprocket 69 upon the shaft 60. The driving connectionsbetween gear 59 and shaft 60 and between sprockets 69 and shaft 60 arecontrolled by means of a pair of clutches 71 and 72, re spectively, themovable members of these clutches being locked together as indicated at73 and actuated by a bell-crank 7 5 and hand lever 74. The arrangementis such that the clutches are forced into gear alternatively, and whenthe clutches are in the intermediate position both are out of gear. Adifferential gear mechanism 76 is interposed in the shaft 63; the centermember of this differential being connected and driven by the spur gear61. The main shaft is rotated by a pair of reversible engines A and Bmounted upon the wagon frame, and receive steam from a boiler C alsocarried by the wagon.

While I have herein shown one embodiment of my invention it is apparentthat it may be varied in details of construction without in any mannerdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a wheel excavator, the combination of a wheel frame, a series ofbuckets secured to said frame, the radial inner face of each bucketbeing hinged thereto at one side edge thereof and arranged to openlaterally when the bucket of which it forms a part arrives at oradjacent to the top of the wheel, a latch for holding the hinged memberof each bucket in closed position until the bucket arrives atdischarging position, and automatic means for successively retractingthe latches, said hinged bucket members closing by gravity during thedescent of the buckets and being automatically latched.

2. In a wheel excavator, the excavating Wheel and its carrying frame, incombination with a series of excavator buckets mounted peripherally andalternately upon opposite sides of the wheel, the radial inner side ofeach bucket being hinged thereto and arranged to open laterally when thebucket of which it forms a part arrives at or adjacent to the top of theWheel, a latch for holding the hinged member of each bucket in closedposition until the bucket arrives at discharging position, and automaticmeans for successively retractingthe latches, said hinged bucket membersclosing by gravity during the descent of the buckets and beingautomatically latched.

3. In a wheel excavator, an excavating wheel, a series of bucketsmounted upon said wheel, the radially inner face of each bucket beinghinged thereto at one side edge thereof and arranged to oaen laterallyto discharge its contents therefrom, means for holding the hinged memberof each bucket in closed position until the latter arrives atdischarging position, automatic means for successively opening the hmgedportions of said buckets, and means for automatically closing the same.

4. In a wheel excavator, an excavating wheel, a series of bucketsmounted peripherally upon said wheel, the radially inner side of eachbucket being hinged thereto at one side edge thereof-and arranged toopen laterally when the bucket arrives at discharging position, meansfor holding said hinged member normally closed, and automatic means forsuccessively tripping the hinged members of said buckets.

5. In a Wheel excavator, an excavating wheel, a series of excavatorbuckets peripherally mounted on said wheel, the radially inner side ofeach bucket being hinged thereto at one side edge thereof and arrangedto open laterally, a latch for normally holding said hinged member inclosed position, and automatic tripping mechanism arranged tosuccessively trip open said hinged members when the buckets arrive attheir discharging position.

6. In an excavator wheel, a series of buckets mounted peripherally onsaid wheel, an endless conveyer mounted adjacent to the top of saidwheel and extending outwardly laterally beyond the side of theexcavation and means for driving said conveyer by the rotation of saidexcavatingwheel.

7. In a wheel excavator, the combination of a supporting frame, anexcavator wheel mounted on bearings carried by said frame, an endlessconveyer mounted adjacent to the top of said wheel and carried by saidsupporting frame and means for driving said conveyer by the rotation ofsaid excavator wheel.

8. In a wheel excavator, the combination with a supporting frame, anexcavating wheel mounted on bearings carried by said frame, an endlessconveyer mounted adjacent to the upper periphery of said wheel, bracerods connecting said conveyer frame with the axis of said excavatorwheel and other brace members connected to said conveyer and extendingthence to said supporting frame at points remote from the axis of saidwheel.

9. In a wheel excavator, a supporting frame, an excavator wheeljournaled in said supporting frame, an endless conveyer mounted adjacentto the upper periphery of said wheel and extending thence laterallyoutwardly beyond the side of the excavation, brace rods supporting saidconveyer and extending thence radially inwardly to said supportingframe, and other brace memmounted in bearings'carried by said supportingframe, an endless conveyer carried by said supporting frame andextending thence laterally outwardly beyond the side of the excavation,a sprocket member sleeved 'to the hub of said excavator wheel, a secondsprocket member carried by said conveyer,

an endless belt or chain trained around said sprocket members wherebysaid conveyer is driven by the rotation of said excavator wheel. r

11. In a wheel excavator, the combination with a supporting frame, of anexcavator wheel mounted thereon, an endless conveyer mounted on eitherside of said excavator wheel and extending laterally beyond therespective sides of the excavation, and means for driving saidconveyers.

V 12. In a wheel excavator, the combination with a supporting frame, ofan excavator wheel mounted in the bearings carried by said supportingframe, an endless conveyer mounted on either side of said excavatorwheel and carried by said supporting frame, said conveyers extendingfrom points adjacent to the top of said excavator wheel beyond therespective sides of the excavation.

13. In a Wheel excavator, the combination of a wheel frame, theperimeter of which is formed by a ring, a series of pairs of brace armssecured to the wheel frame inside of the periphery thereof extendingradially outward'beyond the ring and secured to the latter, and bucketssecured upon the outer ends of each pair of brace arms.

14. In a wheel excavator, the combination of a wheel frame, theperiphery of which is formed by a ring, buckets secured to saidexcavator wheel and means for supportin salild {ouckets beyond theperiphery of sai w ee DAVID W. MILLER.

Witnesses LOIS FORGE, FRANK L. BELKNAP.

